big g from from philly on uncle lou

my pal geoff from philly said it the last time we spoke, and i concur: "it's funny. my two favorite artists are lou reed and the stooges. lou can be so intellectual and the stooges are totally visceral, yet they both take you to the same place." big g's mom has been ailing, and he talked about going to a show -- the grand opening of some nyc hotspot -- where he spent the opening band's entahr set stressing 'n' obsessing over his recent trials 'n' tribs, then lou came out and played a show centered around magic and loss, his '91 rumination on illness and death, and "made me forget everything i'd been thinking about." of course, we agreed, that's what great art _does_. geoff's still raving about having seen lou perform his '73 alb berlin in its entahrty at st. ann's warehouse in brooklyn. my bro. is waxing so ecstatic that i might have to break down and listen to the damn thing after 30something yrs.

here's uncle lou singing "berlin" live at bataclan in paris, '72, with pianner accompaniment by john cale while nico looks on.